Celebrating Singapore — Happy 58th Birthday

<p>A young boy heard on the radio a man&rsquo;s voice urging Singaporeans to join Malaya&nbsp;<strong>&ldquo;or else, we will not survive&rdquo;</strong>&nbsp;or words to that effect. I didn&rsquo;t know who he was; that he was our then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. There were many reasons, he argued, from history to economic markets, to resource abundance, to independence from Britain, and social stability. I knew little then of what most of these meant. But, his&nbsp;<strong>&ldquo;language of survival&rdquo;</strong>&nbsp;in a calm, authoritative voice exuding the confidence of leadership was sufficient to elicit trust and faith, and I also somehow felt the need of that defining moment. I was then too young to vote, but in 1962, more than 70% Singaporeans voted for Merger. And I became a &ldquo;Malaysian&rdquo; in the newly formed country, Malaysia, on 30 August 1963.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/illumination-curated/celebrating-singapore-happy-58th-birthday-fd75ef03c987"><strong>Visit Now</strong></a></p>